Hartford Convict-Activist-Convict Let Many Down

EDITORIAL

Henry Price sent back to prison after backsliding

May 20, 2014|Editorial, The Hartford Courant

Henry Price disappointed the people who tried to help him, and he did no favors for other inmates trying to get a break.

Mr. Price was a one-man crime wave as a young man, a violent drug addict and dealer. His 15th felony conviction was for a 1982 murder, and he was sentenced to 40 years in prison. But when he got to prison, he appeared to do a 180-degree turnabout.

He got off drugs, earned high school and two-year college degrees, organized cultural and family programs. Some people saw what Mr. Price was doing and tried to help him. He was transferred to a work-release program in the early 1990s, which allowed him to work as a drug counselor and teach Bible classes during the day.

In 1994, the Board of Pardons commuted his sentence. Mr. Price, a persuasive speaker, became a familiar presence at city hall and city rallies, and twice ran unsuccessfully for the Hartford city council. He became a minister, counseled ex-offenders and served as president of the Greater Hartford African American Alliance.

Alas, he fell back into his old habits. In 2000, he was arrested on charges of promoting prostitution. He accepted a plea deal in 2002, after apologizing and asking for mercy. He was released from prison in 2008. Last September, while still on probation, he was arrested again for promotion of prostitution.

In court this week, he again pleaded for mercy. Superior Court Judge Joan K. Alexander, a savvy former prosecutor, wasn't buying it. She sentenced Mr. Price, 64, to seven years in prison, followed by 10 years of probation.

Mr. Price had snookered the people — a state prosecutor, a former mayor, ministers, journalists — who tried to help him.

Had he lived a productive post-prison life, his example might have helped other inmates trying to win early release. Indeed, he should have felt an obligation to do so.

The pardons board, now the state Board of Pardons and Paroles, has never been profligate with sentence reductions or commutations. When an inmate with a list of accomplishments similar to Mr. Price's comes before the board, it's not hard to imagine that some board members will have second thoughts, recalling his fraudulent redemption.